The Most Important Thing
by tenshi2708
Summary: Gretel has a crush on Lloyd but he just finds her to be a nuisance. Ivan comforts her and she realizes that she's been going after the wrong man all along.


Gretel ran from the Bazaar in tears. Ivan turned to Lloyd and frowned. "Why are you so cruel to her?"

Lloyd sighed. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just stated a simple fact is all. She really isn't very good at this; I mean did you see what she was trying to sell to people? A bunch of flowers and wood, I can't believe she got any business."

"Well what do you expect her to do? She hasn't even lived here a year yet! She hasn't had time to do much more than forage for her wares, and you've seen how hard she works."

Lloyd grunted, "Yeah when she's not bothering me."

Ivan shook his head. "You know she likes you, so why don't you just tell her you're not interested?"

"I've made myself clear on the issue before, she just refuses to listen. Why don't you go after her and try to convince her I'm such a terrible person to like?"

"Maybe I will." Ivan turned on his heels and briskly walked out of the bazaar grounds.

Lloyd sighed, "Such a nuisance."

~~

Gretel was lying on her bed with a pillow wrapped around her head when Ivan got there. He walked over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed. She peeked up from her hiding spot and croaked, "Ivan? What are you doing here?"

He smiled at her. "I came to make you feel better."

Sniffling Gretel sat up and wiped her eyes. Ivan held out a handkerchief, which she took and blew her nose. "What's wrong with me? No matter what I do Lloyd still hates me."

Ivan moved closer and put his arm around her. "It's not you; he's just a cantankerous fool. You're just too sweet and beautiful for him to handle."

Gretel giggled, "You think I'm beautiful?"

Ivan blushed. "Um yeah I-"

She leaned closer and kissed his cheek. "Thank you Ivan. You're such a good friend."

"Yeah," he mumbled with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Gretel cocked her head to the side, "What's the matter?"

Ivan sighed, "I just don't like seeing you upset. Are you sure he's worth it?"

Gretel shrugged. "I don't know, maybe not. I don't want to just give up on him though! He needs someone who can make him smile."

Ivan smiled and thought, "You're too good for him."

~~

Gretel knocked on Ivan's door before opening it a crack and calling out, "Hello? You home Ivan?"

"I'm in the living room, come on in."

She skipped over to find Ivan at the bookshelf. "What are you doing?"

"Oh just looking at some of dads old books," he said with a sigh. He flipped through a couple of pages before continuing, "Dirk doesn't like to read much so I usually end up telling him about all of the books I've read. I have to make sure he learns everything he needs to know since I'm all he's got now." Ivan sighed, "Maybe we should talk about something else, I'm probably putting a damper on the mood."

"What are you reading about?"

Ivan smiled. "Flowers. Would you like to look at it with me?"

"Of course! You know I love flowers Ivan."

They walked over to the sofa and sat down together. Ivan could feel his face heat up as Gretel pressed herself closer to him so she could see the illustrations. She was eager to learn and they spent a few hours together looking over the book before Dirk arrived home.

"Hello brother! Are you going to make supper soon?"

Ivan looked at his watch. "Oh I didn't realize what time it was, I'll start making it soon. Gretel would you like to join us?"

She smiled. "Of course I would. I can help you cook too if you want."  
"No I can't have a guest do the work. Why don't you and Dirk chat for a while?"

"Ok! I can tell him about everything you taught me today!" She ran over and grabbed Dirk's hand. Ivan laughed and walked into the kitchen as she pulled Dirk to the couch, already talking about the book.

~~

"Thanks for escorting me home Ivan."

"Thank you for spending time with us tonight."

Gretel took Ivan's hands in hers and looked up into his eyes. "You're a great brother. Sometimes I wish I had someone who would take as much as care of me as you do for Dirk."

Ivan blushed. "You don't feel taken care of?"

"Well I suppose you take care of me too, but Dirk gets you every day! You cook and clean. You teach him. He's so lucky."

His blush deepened. Was she saying what it sounded like? "Do you want me to take care of you every day?"

Gretel laughed. "Well who wouldn't? You do so much for me already though Ivan. How would you ever have time to do anything else? If you helped out on the farm I might have more time to win Lloyd over." She winked.

Ivan half-hearty smiled. "How is that going?"

Gretel pouted. "Not as well as a girl could hope. I made him some boiled eggs the other day and he got so mad. I don't know a lot of recipes yet though and I thought he would like it." She sighed and leaned her head against Ivan's chest.

Ivan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She felt so warm and delicate in his arms.

She mumbled into his chest, "Just for future reference, is there any food that you don't like?"

"Well I don't care much for cheese cake."

She giggled. "Well good because I definitely don't know how to make one." She nuzzled against Ivan's chest and sighed, it felt really good to be held by him. Her eyes snapped open and she pushed him away. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry Ivan," she said as a deep red colored her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands.

He laughed, "Sorry for what?"

"For clinging onto you like that! Oh I'm so embarrassed; you must think I'm a horrible person now."

"I could never think that," he said as he gently pulled her hands away so he could see her face. "It would actually make me very happy if you did it more often."

Gretel felt her heart pound as she looked up into Ivan's eyes. Embarrassed, he looked away. "Ivan," she asked in a gentle voice, "do you like me?"

He released her hands and took a few steps back. "Well yes Gretel. I've liked you ever since I first met you."

She reached out and grabbed his jacket, pulling him back to her. She squinted her eyes up at him. "Do you love me?"

Ivan's eyes grew wide as the color drained from his face. "I um, well you see I," he struggled to find words.

Gretel laughed. "You do! Oh I'm so stupid for not realizing it sooner. I'm sorry for going on about Lloyd all the time, can you ever forgive me?"

Ivan managed a nod. Gretel still had a hold on his jacket and he was a little worried about what she would say next.

"Thank you Ivan." She stood up on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Do you think that I can come and see you tomorrow?"

"O-of course you can."

Gretel nodded and released him before turning to go inside. "See you tomorrow then," she said with a wave.

Ivan stood there stunned for a moment, his hand reaching up to touch where she had kissed him. Was that a confession?

~~

Gretel beat her pillow against her face as she mumbled, "How. Could. I. Be. So. Stupid?" She moaned and rolled over. Ever since she arrived in Zephyr Ivan had been nothing but kind to her. It didn't take long to form a friendship with him; she sometimes even rushed over to walk with him to the edge of town on his way to work. Until today she never thought of him as anything more than a good friend but now, she realized that he was more than that. How long had he liked her and had to suffer through her idiotic obsession with Lloyd? Sure Lloyd was mysterious and interesting, but Ivan was kind and sweet. He was always there for her when she needed someone to talk to. Spending time with Ivan and Dirk was always much more fun than trying to get Lloyd to even answer his door. Gretel wanted the night to think it over, but she had honestly already made up her mind, she wasn't wasting another second on Lloyd.

~~

Gretel ran to Ivan's house. It had slipped her mind that it was Tuesday and that he would be leaving for work but she was determined to catch him. She left her chores unfinished; she could do them after she saw him. He wasn't at home but she caught up to him by taking the small path that lead behind the hotel. He was just about to enter the bazaar grounds when she pounced on him.

"Ivan! Oh I'm so glad I caught you," she huffed as she hugged his neck."

"I was wondering if you would come to see me off. I have to get going though; you can come and greet me tonight if you like."

Gretel released his neck and took his hand. He smiled as they continued to walk to the outside of town. "I have something important to tell you."

He laughed. "You're going to make me late for work. I promise we can talk more tonight Gretel."

She sighed, they were at the gates. "Alright. Have a good day Ivan."

Ivan tilted her chin up with his hand and kissed her on the nose. "I'll see you tonight."

Gretel blushed and waved as he left.

~~

That night Gretel stood waiting at the gates for Ivan to return. As soon as she saw him she launched herself into his arms. She couldn't wait a moment longer to say, "Ivan I love you."

He laughed and held her close. "I love you too. I promise that I will always be there for you. I'll take care of you."

Gretel nuzzled into Ivan's chest allowing herself to be consumed by his warmth. Neither one of them knew how long they stood standing there in each other's arms, but eventually they broke free. Ivan trailed his finger down Gretel's jaw line before lifting her head up and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. When he began to pull away, she seized his coat and pulled him back for another.


End file.
